IC-Wake Up Call(various)

[Mr. Handy]

Z-Day - 8:50 AM Mountain Daylight Time - At the motel
In the motel lobby-
Ms. Foo was going over the night receipts and the number of guests last night with Ellen Cody. The pretty Italian girl, Felice Piccone, was coming in to pay her bill. She glanced outside to check on Mr. Foo who was still doing Tai Chi.

She also saw the old guy, Bud, who came in last night was outside. He was checking out the Italian girl. Horny devil, but she was a pretty one. She could also see that Englishman - Michael Walters wasn’t that his name? - was up and looking towards the horizon with a pair of binoculars.

In front of the motel-
Walters was looking off to the horizon. He thought a meteor came down to the north, somewhere over the horizon. Still couldn’t seem to find it with the binoculars though. Maybe he should go and have a look.

Father McCormick had already left his room and was about to go pay but was watching Mr. Foo practice his Tai Chi. He saw a young man in athletic clothes doing push-ups. The young man was in pretty good physical condition and reminded McCormick of his past. A young woman, Azadeh, walked behind him and said, “Good morning.” A very pretty girl, noted McCormick. McCormick had also noted the pretty Italian woman who drove a Porsche was going to the main office, probably to pay her bill.

Alex was practicing his pushups and anticipating his run. His noise had woken up Jenny Cooper who was getting out of her sleeping bag from a nearby tent. She thought she was alone out here in the middle of Nebraska. She poked her head out to see Mr. Foo exercising. She also noticed Mr. Walters looking along the horizon with a pair of binoculars. Perhaps he was also interested in checking out the meteor?

Mr Foo was doing his Tai Chi exercises and wishing the young Marine was more quiet and would try to concentrate, to meditate and remove the sound of his pushups.

In the Lathans' suite-
The Lathan family was still getting up and hadn’t left their suite yet. Ms. Lathan was enjoying the shower while Mr. Lathan tried to convince the kids to get going. Bobby was turning on the TV to see what was on HBO while Scotty sat on his twin bed, playing his Nintendo Switch.

In Samantha's room-
Samantha lay on the bed in her motel room, asleep and blissfully unaware of what was happening in the world around her.

[RonaHattingh]

While Ellen is very fond of Ms Foo, her droning about last night visitors and their bill makes Ellen drowsy. She wonders what Charlie is doing, smiling secretly about the quick kiss they shared last night.

[Raiko]

Old Bud:

Bud watched Felice walk into the lobby, nice looking girl - not the one he's looking for, but nice all the same.
He spots Jenny climbing out of the tent nearby looking a little lost, and Azadeh walking nearby.

"Nope... and nope."

He really was getting too old for this s***, but a man's gotta pay the bills somehow.
With a sigh he followed Felice into the lobby.

[Mr. Handy]

8:51 AM
In the motel lobby-
Bud followed Felice Piccone inside. The beautiful Italian woman headed for the front desk. If he wanted to speak to Ms. Foo, he'd have to get in line behind her. At least the view was good.

Ms. Foo had been starting to get annoyed by Ellen worrying about her health. She knew she meant well, of course, but...

Felice walked up to the desk and rang the bell. "Ah, saved by bell!" Ms. Foo turned to face her. "Good morning, Missy Felice. Good seeing you."

Felice smiled and spoke in English with an Italian accent. "Good morning to you too," she said. "I'd like to check out please." She fished in her purse for her credit card.

"How you like stay? Room fine? Everything fine?"

"Oh, yes, it was magnifico! Say, there's one thing I was curious about. What is that huge satellite dish on top of the motel for?"

"Ah. It for TV, of course."

"For the TV?"

"Yes, TV. That how you get free HBO in every room."

"But I've never seen one so big before."

"We got dish in seventies. You too young to remember, but all dish big in seventies. My husband say they called BUD. Big Ugly Dish."

The old private detective perked up when he heard his name, but then he realized they weren't talking about him and went back to staring at Felice. Ms. Foo clucked at him and shook her head.

Felice laughed. "It's amazing the thing still works after all these years." She finally found her credit card and handed it to Ms. Foo, who began to process her bill, glancing out the window every so often to check on her husband exercising outside.

Ms. Foo frowned when she tried to run the card. "That can't be right..." she mumbled. "I try again." She tried a few more times, but the reader still did not accept the credit card.

"Is there a problem?" asked Felice.

"I not understand," said Ms. Foo. "It not take card." She called to the maid. "Missy Ellen, please to help me. Machine not take card. I think I do something wrong."

In front of the motel-
Jenny Cooper climbed out of her tent and stretched. She was fully dressed, having slept in her clothes, which were now rather rumpled. She noticed Michael Walters looking off to the north with his binoculars. "Morning," she said. "Did you see that meteor come down last night?"

Mr. Foo practiced his Tai Chi in the yard outside the motel, moving seamlessly from stance to stance and battling imaginary opponents. His motions were almost dance-like in many ways. He had drawn a small crowd this morning to watch him. There was less traffic on the highway today, which should have done wonders for his inner peace. The priest and the Iranian woman were quiet enough, but the young man doing pushups was making a lot of noise, going "HUT!" each time he did one.

Alex also seemed to be taking an interest in Mr. Foo's exercises.

In the Lathans' suite-
Cathy Lathan relaxed in the shower, closing her eyes and letting the water wash over her.

In the boys' bedroom, both Bobby and Scotty did their best to ignore their father telling them to get ready for breakfast.

Bobby flicked on the TV. He was about to change the channel to HBO when he grew interested in what he saw on the screen. The CNN logo was on the bottom of the screen, and there was an image of an urban neighborhood on fire. "Cool!" he said. "Not sure which movie this is yet. I don't think I've seen it before."

[Cotton]

Mr. Foo wants to finish his exercises in peace, and is torn between leaving for some place quieter and stubbornly clinging to his routine. If he notices his wife's difficulties inside he might take that as a sign to quit his current local.

[Raiko]

Old Bud:

Great... she doesn't even know how it works... this is going to take a while.

Bud stands and waits impatiently as Ms. Foo tries to figure out how the card reader works. He alternates between watching the exasperated motel owner, an occasional glance at the lovely Felice and gazing out through the window.

[Mr. Handy]

8:52 AM
In front of the motel-
Azadeh walked into the motel lobby.

The Marine watching Mr. Foo finished his pushups and then began to follow his movements, rather poorly.

Jenny Cooper was pointing to the north. "I figure the meteor came down in that direction," she said, "probably ten miles to the north, but probably right off that road." Although Jenny didn't know it, she was pointing in the general direction of Horst Jaegermeister's PMS compound.

"Yes, I think you're right," said Michael, offering her the binoculars to let her take a look. "I'm Michael Walters. Are you interested in astronomy?"

"Oh, yes!" she said eagerly. "I just got my Master's in astronomy, and I'm thinking of going for a Ph.D. Piled Higher and Deeper. I'm Jenny Cooper. Nice to meet you." She peered off to the north through the binoculars.

In the motel lobby-
Ellen tried running the card, but she got the same result. "No, you're not doing anything wrong," she said. "The card's been declined. It says to claim the card."

Azadeh entered the lobby and got in line behind Bud. She looked impatient to pay and get going.

Felice reached into her pocketbook and found another credit card. "Here, try this one," She said, handing the Discover Card to Ms. Foo. Ms. Foo tried the other card, which also failed to work. As did a third card, a Diner’s Club card. Strange that. On the third attempt the machine read an error message in an old code. Unsure what the code meant, Ms. Foo checked the manual, causing more delay. According to the code, it seemed that the message could not be transmitted.

Felice was a bit embarrassed. “I don’t have enough cash for the bill, and I assume you don’t take checks?”

If the Foos took checks they would never stay in business.

Uncertain what to do, Felice said, “I don’t understand why this doesn’t work. Perhaps you should take the next customer.” She stepped aside to let Bud come forward while Mrs. Foo examined the card reader.

In the Lathans' suite-
"But I'm in the middle of a game!" protested Scotty.

"Mom's still in the shower," said Bobby. "We got time."

"I'll go get your mother. You just be ready when she is. We've got to go get breakfast so we can hit the road."

"Oh, all right."

The boys started to get dressed as their father went across the suite to the room he shared with Cathy. "Honey, time to get dressed! We need to get some breakfast!"

Cathy sighed, coming out of her reverie. Reluctantly, she shut off the water, dried herself off, and began to get dressed.

OOC,[b]Tony Lathan[/b]'s Fast Talk roll (60% skill) to get the children to get ready: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Mrs. Foo[/b]'s Electrical Repair roll (35% skill) examining the credit card reader: [dice]1[/dice]

[Raiko]

Old Bud:

"I can wait."

Bud steps out of the way to allow Azadeh through.

"Maybe this young lady could pay first?"

[Mr. Handy]

8:53 AM
In front of the motel-
"Astronomy is also an interest of mine," said Michael, "though I'm probably nowhere near as much of an expert as you are. It's good to meet a fellow watcher of the stars. I'm a psychologist, here on holiday. Have you seen any other unusual things in the sky, Miss Cooper?"

"No, just the meteors," said Jenny, "though those are unusual enough. You don't usually get them this time of year, and they almost always burn up in the atmosphere."

OOC,[b]Mr. Foo[/b], please roll Psychology and Spot Hidden.

In the motel lobby-
"Thank you," said Azadeh with a smile as she walked past Bud to the counter and handed Ms. Foo her credit card. There was still no response.

She examined the credit card reader, realizing with relief that the problem was probably with it and not with her mind. Physically, it seemed all right and had power, but it could not send or receive data over the network. "I so sorry," she said. "This never happen before. You have traveler's cheques, maybe?"

"I don’t have no traveler’s checks,” said Felice. The young Italian seemed distraught. “I do have some jewelry… but it's so much more valuable than the cost of the room.”

Azadeh was also impatient. "Traveler’s cheques? No. But I think I have cash," she said. She reached into her purse and found a few twenties for the night and paid the tab.

In the Lathans' suite-
Cathy and the boys continued to get dressed.

[Raiko]

Old Bud:


"Maybe you could let this lady make call to her bank? See if something can be arranged? Seeing as it's your machine that isn't working."

Bud walks to the window and watches what's going on outside while he waits for Ms. Foo to be free.

Spot Hidden - Passed,[b]Spot Hidden (55%) roll for Old Bud, in case it's needed:[/b] [dice]0[/dice]

[Mr. Handy]

8:54 AM
In front of the motel-
"Yes, that's certainly true," said Michael. "Would you like to go take a look at the one that came down to the north?"

"Um...yeah!" said Jenny.

OOC,[b]Mr. Foo[/b]'s Psychology roll (82% skill) outside the motel: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Mr. Foo[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (76% skill) outside the motel: [dice]1[/dice]

Mr. Foo,[b]Mr. Foo[/b] picked up that Alex was very sensitive to instruction, but also that his demeanor would make him an excellent instructor. Such an individual would make an excellent teacher. [b]Jenny[/b] seemed to be a genuine and pleasant young woman, very well educated but a little socially awkward. [b]Mr. Foo[/b] suspected that [b]Michael[/b] was not what he appeared. He suspected that [b]Michael[/b] was in disguise. There were more reasons for this - [b]Michael[/b] had been hanging around the area and asking questions. Why would anyone stop at this motel for more than a night or two?

In the motel lobby-
"Yes, good idea, grazie," said Felice. She took out her cell phone and tried to make a call, waiting for a response. "I not get through. You go ahead, Signore."

Old Bud,Looking out the window facing eastward, [b]Bud[/b] could see a faint orange glow on the horizon, coming from the direction of Sidney. It looked like something was burning, and it had to be a big fire for him to be able to see it from miles away.

In the Lathans' suite-
The Lathans finished dressing and gathered in the suite's common area.

[Cotton]

Seeing Alex’s attempts, Mr. Foo laughs good naturedly. “No, no. Like this.” He performs some basic moves slowly for the young man’s benefit, and explains the basics of tai chi and zen as best he can.

Spoiler:

While acting as a teacher, Mr. Foo watches Michael and Jenny to see what direction they head off in. If they don’t return relatively soon he may be inclined to follow them and see what Michael is up to.

[Raiko]

Old Bud:


Bud walks back to Ms. Foo, taking a photo of a girl out of pocket.

"I'll be sticking around for a few days, more than likely, so no need to settle the bill yet."

He shows the photo to the motel owner and Emily, then says, "I'm looking for this kid, her folks are real worried, the best lead I have is that she might have been seen around Motel 8."

Bud smiles at Ms. Foo, "Have you seen her at all? Maybe a week or two ago?"

[Mr. Handy]

8:55 AM
In front of the motel-
"Let's get some breakfast first," said Jenny, her stomach growling. "I just got up."

"Good idea," said Michael. "I doubt that meteorite's going anywhere. The food's pretty good at the T-Bone." The two of them began walking to the east, soon crossing the dirt road that led to the north, about halfway between the motel and the T-Bone.

"Sir, nice to meet you, sir!" said Alex. "The name is Alex, sir! It looks really cool, sir! I'm already a black belt in Kung Fu, but I'm interested in learning a new style."

Azadeh emerged from the motel's front door and walked across the lot, nodding to the priest.

OOC,[b]Jenny Cooper[/b] and [b]Michael Walters[/b] are moving to the thread linked below:

Breakfast

In the motel lobby-
"Let me think..." said Ms. Foo, peering at the photograph. "She look familiar...I sorry, I not remember. Maybe ask my husband. He outside. Or maybe have better luck at truck stop across road."

OOC,[b]Ms. Foo[/b]'s Know roll (55% stat) about the photo: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Ms. Foo[/b]'s Idea roll (70% stat) about the photo: [dice]1[/dice]

Ms. Foo,[b]Ms. Foo[/b] was also curious about [b]Bud[/b]. He could be the girl's father, a cop, or an investigator.

On the east balcony-
The Lathans emerged from their room and headed for the stairs. The noise finally woke up Samantha, who was in one of the rooms they passed.

[Raiko]

Old Bud:


"Thank's, I'll do that."

Bud puts the photo back in his pocket. "Like I say, I'll probably be here for a few days, so if you remember anything, let me know."

Before opening the door he says, "It looks like there's a big fire over in the direction of the town. Maybe that explains why your machine's acting up."

Bud will steps back outside and stands for a second to observe Mr. Foo and Alex. He would have headed straight for the T-Bone first, rather than interrupting the guy's Tai Chi, but he figures he might get the chance to join the conversation if he waits a moment.

[Mr. Handy]

8:56 AM
In front of the motel-
Azadeh continued walking to the east, toward the T-Bone.

The Lathans came down the stairs from the balcony.

OOC,[b]Mr. Foo[/b], if [b]Bud[/b] shows you the picture, please roll Know.

In the motel lobby-
"A fire?" said Ellen, peering out the window. "Oh, that's a big one! Good thing it's far away. Looks like it's all the way in Sidney. Better call it in." She took out her cell phone. "Damn, no signal."

OOC,[b]Ms. Foo[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) looking out the window: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Ellen[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (32% skill) looking out the window: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Felice[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (50% skill) looking out the window: [dice]2[/dice] [b]In Samantha's room-[/b] [b]Samantha[/b] got out of bed and began to get dressed.

[Raiko]

Old Bud:


Bud stands watching Mr. Foo showing Alex some Tai Chi moves for a minute. He stands close enough to be noticed, and to hear anything they say, but doesn't interrupt unless spoken to.

OOC,As per my previous post, Bud's not going to be rude and interrupt, he figures he can talk to Mr. Foo later if need be. So I'll wait for a post from Cotton before approaching Mr. Foo with the photo. Or I'll wait a full minute for the next update before walking across to the diner. I know that I'm wasting precious time, but I don't think Bud's got reason to think anything serious is going down. I'm not even sure if he witnessed the meteor shower?

[Mr. Handy]

8:57 AM
In front of the motel-
The Lathans walked off to the east, heading for the diner.

"Good morning, sir!" said Alex with a salute, noticing Bud standing nearby and watching.

Those outside the motel could now see a dark trail of smoke coming from the area of Sidney, far to the eastern horizon.

OOC,[b]Bud[/b] didn't see the meteor shower himself, but he did hear about it. Right now the only thing he knows that has gone wrong is that distant fire. Give Cotton a few more days while I'm away to respond, and if he hasn't by the time I return, I'll post for him as an NPC. I'll post the information for [b]Mr. Foo[/b] now since I'll be away, and there's a 99% chance he'll succeed at his Know roll anyway. Presuming he sees the picture and passes his Know roll, he may read the below spoiler button. [b]Azadeh[/b] is moving to the thread linked below:

Breakfast

Mr. Foo,[b]Mr. Foo[/b] recognized the girl. She came in and booked a room for the night on the way to San Francisco, she had said. She had paid in advance then went to the diner for a meal. This was a few months ago. According to [b]Ellen[/b], the girl had left the room in the same state it had been when she had arrived. There was no car in the parking lot and no one remembered if she left early in the morning or late at night. In fact, the last [b]Mr. Foo[/b] remembered was that the girl went to the diner, but he can't recall her returning.

In Samantha's room-
Samantha flicked on the TV while she got dressed, but it did not work.

In the motel lobby-
"I sure someone see fire and report it," said Ms. Foo. "Try TV. Maybe it on news."

When Ellen turned on the television she got only snow from local stations and frozen images from national networks. She tried every station without success.

[Cotton]

Seeing Bud, Mr. Foo says, "Oh hello. Do you need help with something?"

[Raiko]

Old Bud:


"No need to salute me son."

Bud grins, "I wasn't ever an officer, just a grunt."

He takes the photo back out of his pocket and shows it to Mr. Foo, "I spoke to your wife inside. She thought you might remember this girl? I'm looking for her for her folks, she's been missing for a while."